![]() If the heart was found to be lighter or equal in weight to the feather of Maat, the deceased had a virtuous and ethical life and would go on to Arus (the Field of Reeds). ![]() The heart was considered to be the base of one’s personality and character and should be delivered to the gods in the afterlife for judgment.Īccording to the Book of the Dead, the petitioner led by Anubis into duat, ( the place for judgment), the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against her single “Feather of Maat”, the white feather of truth, symbolically representing the concept of Maat, in the Hall of Two Truths. This is why, while all other organs were removed from the body of the dead, the hearts remained in the mummies. The heart was taken as the symbol of all the emotions, desires, and passions, both good and evil, and out of it proceeded the issues of life. It explains how the deceased has to declare his innocence before the court of the gods and how, afterward, the gods will weigh his heart. The most famous spell of the Book of the Dead is 125. Surely, he had to be a person of high rank to be able to afford a Book of the Dead so complete and so beautiful. In the introduction of the book, we can read that Ani was a Scribe, Governor, and Administrator. We do not know much about its owner, Ani. Unrolled, it measures more than 26 meters! It contains many chapters and a large number of drawings that explain step-by-step what happens to the soul when it leaves the body. it is a funerary text providing instruction to the soul in the afterlife and at the time it was written, it would have been considered necessary in order for one to pass through judgment before Osiris and the divine court of justice. The Ani’s papyrus is the best preserved Book of the Dead. From this point of view, judgment can be considered to be an initiation ritual. According to Egyptian funerary beliefs, judgment after death was a process the deceased had to undergo in order to become “justified” and thus qualify for entrance into the hereafter. The 42 Negative Confessions of Maat or 42 Declaration of Innocence are part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
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